Surfactants have a wide range of properties including emulsifying properties, dispersing properties, detergent properties, wetting properties and foaming properties. These properties have allowed the surfactants to be used in various fields including paper, rubber, plastics, metals, paints, pigments and civil engineering, in addition to the field of fibers. In particular, moves toward more high performance end products containing surfactants have recently become more active and along with this activity the shortcoming of surfactants are also being pointed out.
For example, surfactants are an indispensable ingredient for producing paints, printing inks, adhesives and the like or for stabilizing these products or improving their workability. However, conventional surfactants are not necessary when products containing such surfactants are actually used in the coating, printing or adhesive process, etc. Rather, in this case the presence of the surfactant most often deteriorates properties such as the water or oil resistance of the paint coat, printed surface, adhesive coat and the like.
In the case wherein a polymer is produced by emulsion polymerization, anionic surfactants such as an alkylsulfate, alkylbenzenesulfate, and polyoxyethylene alkyl ether sulfate and nonionic surfactants such as a polyoxyethylene alkyl ether, polyoxyethylene fatty ester, and pluronic type surfactants have been conventionally used as the emulsifying agent for the emulsion polymerization. It is known that the emulsifying agent for emulsion polymerization is not only involved in initiation of the polymerization reaction or generation reaction, but also relates to the mechanical stability, chemical stability, freezing stability and storing stability of the emulsion produced. Moreover, the emulsifying agent also has a large affect on physical properties of the emulsion such as particle size, viscosity and foaming property, as well as physical properties or film properties, of film made from the emulsion such as water resistance, weather resistance, adhesive property and heat resistance.
However, it has been pointed out that emulsions obtained by emulsion polymerization using the above-mentioned ordinary emulsifying agents generate a lot of bubbles which are attributable to the emulsifying agents. Also, when a film is produced from the emulsion, the free emulsifying agent is left in the film and degrades the film properties such as adhesive property, water resistance, weather resistance and heat resistance.
Conventionally, a dispersing agent in which vinyl chloride type monomers are dispersed in an aqueous medium in the presence of a dispersion stabilizer, has been widely used in suspension polymerization for industrial product film of vinyl resins; and polymerization is carried out using an oil soluble catalyst. The factors controlling the quality of such resins include: polymerization rate, water/monomer ratio, polymerization temperature, type and amount of the catalyst, type of polymerization phase, and stirring speed or type and amount of dispersion stabilizer. Among these, the type of dispersion stabilizer used is known to have a very significant influence.
Examples of a dispersing agent for conventional suspension polymerization of vinyl resins include cellulose derivatives such as methyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose, carboxy methyl cellulose, and water soluble polymers such as gelatin and polyvinyl alcohol. However, such dispersing agents remain in the free state in the vinyl resin obtained after polymerization and degrade physical properties such as water resistance, weather resistance and durability of the vinyl resin.
As for vinyl resin reforming agents, an example of a vinyl polymer reforming agent is given in Japanese Patent Laid-open NO. 1-174511, but such a reforming agent has not been able to provide a uniform copolymer due to its low compatibility with monomers. An attempt to improve the compatibility of the reforming agent is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open NO. 1-174512, but compatibility has not yet been improved to a satisfactory level, and the reforming effect on the polymer remained insufficient as well.
Generally speaking, polyester fibers have higher hydrophobic properties and lower hydrophilic properties than natural fibers. This fact has caused the following defects, where polyester fibers are uncomfortable to wear, accumulate static electricity, absorb dust in the air, are difficult to remove oil stains from blacken due to recontamination during washing, etc. There have been various experiments made in the past to get rid of these defects.
Soil resistant finish processes for polyester fibers include a method in which a water soluble polyester resin having increased affinity to polyester fibers is adsorbed (Japanese Patent Publication No. 53-47437), and a method in which the adsorption is carried out using a pad-steam process utilizing a steamer (Japanese Patent Publication No. 51-2559). Methods in which stain proof properties and hydrophilic properties are imparted by graft polymerization of the stain-proofing agent on polyester have been also disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open NO. 4-214467 and Japanese Patent Laid-open NO. 4-214466, etc. However, none of the above mentioned methods are fully satisfactory from the view point of performance, and polyester fibers having sufficient stainproof properties have not yet been obtained.
Generally, the conditions for emulsion polymerization and suspension polymerization are diverse. The conditions vary and depend on the type and molecular weight of the polymer to be polymerized, as well as on the manufacturing equipment condition, cost and use of the polymer produced, etc. Thus, an emulsifying agent and dispersing agent that are appropriate for each condition are required. The same can be said about the resin reforming agents and stain resistant finish for polyester fibers.
The performance of the surfactant is mainly decided by the balance between the hydrophilic group and the hydrophobic group. However, sometimes conventional polymerizable surfactants fail to show sufficient hydrophobic properties and thus has been a demand in the industry for a polymerizable surfactant having a novel hydrophobic group.